People I miss
In church, envelopes were given out to everyone for All Souls’ Day. “Pamisa para sa mga Kaluluwa” or “Mass for all Souls”. Of course they meant the “dearly departed”, but don’t you think the living need these prayers more? Anyway, I digress…
I was writing down a list of names of our relatives who have passed away. My grandparents, my older sister, a dear friend. And I couldn’t help recalling some things about these special people. Let me start off with my lolos and lolas…
My Lolo Telo (Dad’s dad) was the first to die among my grandparents. He was a lot older than my Lola Viring since she was already his second wife. He had eight children with my lola, and I remember that even in his 70’s he still would go daily to watch the races. He called my younger brother “Rock Hudson” since my brother was so fair and had brown hair. And whenever we’d visit, my Lola Viring would prepare our favorite, fried chicken. We would always have more than enough…one piece of chicken would be for eating with rice, and the other would be for “pang-papak” or snacking. It was often said we might grow wings and feathers considering how much we loved to eat chicken. :)
My Lolo Ninoy (Mom’s Dad) was always said to be strict. We’d heard stories about how he’d punish my uncles when they wouldn’t eat veggies when they were younger. But with me being the oldest “apo” (grandchild), I was special. I remember I spent my first school years with my grandparents. Reason? I was a Nursery school dropout. I had a bad first day in Nursery and vowed never to go back to school. So the next school year, they convinced me to start school in the same school where my aunt taught. So I skipped Nursery, Kindergarten and Prep altogether, and started Grade One (at age 5 or 6). Anyway, since I was staying with my grandparents, it was my Lolo Ninoy who would bring me to school and fetch me in the afternoon. And not once do I remember that I was scolded or spanked by my lolo. Spoiled that I was… he he he… So it was an especially sad day for me when my Lolo Ninoy died. I was in the hospital with my aunts and parents when he succumbed to liver cancer, a day before an uncle was supposed to get married. His last words to my uncle were, “Sorry I can’t be here for your wedding…” :(
My Lola Nieves died in the U.S. One thing I remember about my lola Nieves is how she used to watch tv late at night. She’d invariably fall asleep on the sofa while watching tv, and when we’d turn off the tv, she’d wake up and say, “I was watching that.” :) Her favorite pet was a dog (a Pekinese, if memory serves) named Tanya, and she was spoiled rotten by my lola. Lola Nieves died in the U.S. so we never got a chance to see her for the funeral. But I distinctly remember an incident which occurred the day after she died. Coming home from school, I went to the back and saw a HUGE butterfly perched on our kitchen wall! The butterfly was beautiful, with brown wings and circles decorating its wings. I silently pointed it to my mom, and she just nodded. The butterfly had seemingly come out of nowhere. We just knew then that it was my lola visiting us for the last time. Brown had always been one of her favorite colors. And besides, it was so rare to see a butterfly in this concrete jungle, what more, a huge butterfly which was almost a foot long. The butterfly stayed there on our wall for 3 days, seemingly just resting. When we woke up on the 4th day, it was gone.
My Lola Viring died just a few years back. She went to the US, too, and would save money from her babysitting jobs and would invariably send this back to relatives all over in the Philippines. She would travel all over the US, and surprised us all when she suddenly decided to come home to the Philippines. Turns out during one of her high school reunions here in the Philippines, she met an old friend. And a few months later, when she heard that his wife had died, she had sent him a sympathy card. They started communicating, and a few months later, the man came to the US to ask for her hand in marriage. She was already 76 then, I think, and we were all so surprised. But of course, who were we to get in the way of her happiness? So she remarried Don Pepe, and they lived happily ever after. I remember that whenever I told their love story to friends, my friends would smile and laugh, and couldn’t believe it. I would add in jest to my unmarried friends, “So don’t lose hope. Even my lola at 76 got married again!” :) When Don Pepe died, the family decided to take her back and take care of her. She died just a few months after Don Pepe. Makes us all think that they were really meant to be with each other.
Now for my Ate. My Ate Joanne was born March 1970 at UST Hospital. She was born with a number of ailments, aside from having a hole in her heart. Doctors had said her case was one in a million. Sadly, my parents never got a chance to bring her home. She died just a month after she was born. The doctors were asking my parents to donate her body to the school so that they could use her body for study but understandably, my parents refused. Growing up, I remember being told that aside from our guardian angels, we have an extra angel watching over us, and that was our Ate Joanne.
Lastly, there’s my dear college friend Ramil. There were three of us in our team, Ramil, Lisa, and myself. We became close during our junior year in college as we were all officers of our Psychological Society. We were the troika, 3 Musketeers, and it was as if we were joined at the hip. Ramil was a few years older than us, and we called him “Mommy Ramil”, everyone did! Though we all had different sets of friends, the 3 of us would also spend special time together. He was such a blast to be with. There wasn’t a dull moment with him. He’d embarrass our suitors, and would also be protective of us. There was a time that a couple of guys harassed me and a couple of female friends, and he was suddenly the “macho” guy who challenged those guys to a fist fight! Those guys didn’t stand a chance! I remember him telling me before, how lucky I was. He believed that I was lucky not just in love, but in my career as well. He was our adviser, beauty consultant, bodyguard, cheerleader, all rolled into one!
So when Ramil figured in a car accident a few years after college, Lisa and I were heartbroken. He was on his way home from Bulacan with some co-workers when the car they were riding was hit by a 10-wheeler truck. Their car exploded, no survivors.
Up to now, I still have fond memories of all these special people. They all had a hand in shaping me into what I am now. I do miss all of them. And I pray that when they look down from heaven, they smile, and are happy at what they see.
I was writing down a list of names of our relatives who have passed away. My grandparents, my older sister, a dear friend. And I couldn’t help recalling some things about these special people. Let me start off with my lolos and lolas…
My Lolo Telo (Dad’s dad) was the first to die among my grandparents. He was a lot older than my Lola Viring since she was already his second wife. He had eight children with my lola, and I remember that even in his 70’s he still would go daily to watch the races. He called my younger brother “Rock Hudson” since my brother was so fair and had brown hair. And whenever we’d visit, my Lola Viring would prepare our favorite, fried chicken. We would always have more than enough…one piece of chicken would be for eating with rice, and the other would be for “pang-papak” or snacking. It was often said we might grow wings and feathers considering how much we loved to eat chicken. :)
My Lolo Ninoy (Mom’s Dad) was always said to be strict. We’d heard stories about how he’d punish my uncles when they wouldn’t eat veggies when they were younger. But with me being the oldest “apo” (grandchild), I was special. I remember I spent my first school years with my grandparents. Reason? I was a Nursery school dropout. I had a bad first day in Nursery and vowed never to go back to school. So the next school year, they convinced me to start school in the same school where my aunt taught. So I skipped Nursery, Kindergarten and Prep altogether, and started Grade One (at age 5 or 6). Anyway, since I was staying with my grandparents, it was my Lolo Ninoy who would bring me to school and fetch me in the afternoon. And not once do I remember that I was scolded or spanked by my lolo. Spoiled that I was… he he he… So it was an especially sad day for me when my Lolo Ninoy died. I was in the hospital with my aunts and parents when he succumbed to liver cancer, a day before an uncle was supposed to get married. His last words to my uncle were, “Sorry I can’t be here for your wedding…” :(
My Lola Nieves died in the U.S. One thing I remember about my lola Nieves is how she used to watch tv late at night. She’d invariably fall asleep on the sofa while watching tv, and when we’d turn off the tv, she’d wake up and say, “I was watching that.” :) Her favorite pet was a dog (a Pekinese, if memory serves) named Tanya, and she was spoiled rotten by my lola. Lola Nieves died in the U.S. so we never got a chance to see her for the funeral. But I distinctly remember an incident which occurred the day after she died. Coming home from school, I went to the back and saw a HUGE butterfly perched on our kitchen wall! The butterfly was beautiful, with brown wings and circles decorating its wings. I silently pointed it to my mom, and she just nodded. The butterfly had seemingly come out of nowhere. We just knew then that it was my lola visiting us for the last time. Brown had always been one of her favorite colors. And besides, it was so rare to see a butterfly in this concrete jungle, what more, a huge butterfly which was almost a foot long. The butterfly stayed there on our wall for 3 days, seemingly just resting. When we woke up on the 4th day, it was gone.
My Lola Viring died just a few years back. She went to the US, too, and would save money from her babysitting jobs and would invariably send this back to relatives all over in the Philippines. She would travel all over the US, and surprised us all when she suddenly decided to come home to the Philippines. Turns out during one of her high school reunions here in the Philippines, she met an old friend. And a few months later, when she heard that his wife had died, she had sent him a sympathy card. They started communicating, and a few months later, the man came to the US to ask for her hand in marriage. She was already 76 then, I think, and we were all so surprised. But of course, who were we to get in the way of her happiness? So she remarried Don Pepe, and they lived happily ever after. I remember that whenever I told their love story to friends, my friends would smile and laugh, and couldn’t believe it. I would add in jest to my unmarried friends, “So don’t lose hope. Even my lola at 76 got married again!” :) When Don Pepe died, the family decided to take her back and take care of her. She died just a few months after Don Pepe. Makes us all think that they were really meant to be with each other.
Now for my Ate. My Ate Joanne was born March 1970 at UST Hospital. She was born with a number of ailments, aside from having a hole in her heart. Doctors had said her case was one in a million. Sadly, my parents never got a chance to bring her home. She died just a month after she was born. The doctors were asking my parents to donate her body to the school so that they could use her body for study but understandably, my parents refused. Growing up, I remember being told that aside from our guardian angels, we have an extra angel watching over us, and that was our Ate Joanne.
Lastly, there’s my dear college friend Ramil. There were three of us in our team, Ramil, Lisa, and myself. We became close during our junior year in college as we were all officers of our Psychological Society. We were the troika, 3 Musketeers, and it was as if we were joined at the hip. Ramil was a few years older than us, and we called him “Mommy Ramil”, everyone did! Though we all had different sets of friends, the 3 of us would also spend special time together. He was such a blast to be with. There wasn’t a dull moment with him. He’d embarrass our suitors, and would also be protective of us. There was a time that a couple of guys harassed me and a couple of female friends, and he was suddenly the “macho” guy who challenged those guys to a fist fight! Those guys didn’t stand a chance! I remember him telling me before, how lucky I was. He believed that I was lucky not just in love, but in my career as well. He was our adviser, beauty consultant, bodyguard, cheerleader, all rolled into one!
So when Ramil figured in a car accident a few years after college, Lisa and I were heartbroken. He was on his way home from Bulacan with some co-workers when the car they were riding was hit by a 10-wheeler truck. Their car exploded, no survivors.
Up to now, I still have fond memories of all these special people. They all had a hand in shaping me into what I am now. I do miss all of them. And I pray that when they look down from heaven, they smile, and are happy at what they see.
posted by shy @ 7:18 PM
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